[Alcohol consumption risk among health care workers of the Santa Croce e Carle Hospital of Cuneo: index of prevalence, predictors and enforcement actions to dissuade alcohol consumption].

Objectives: 1691 workers of a hospital in Northern Italy underwent medical examinations in order to identij the prevalence index of alcohol consumption posing a risk, to assess the ability of some bio-anthropometric variables to predict the condition of a risk drinker, and to assess the results of a programme designed to reduce alcohol intake.

Methods: Certain blood parameters were examined and two basic alcohol consumption questionnaires were administered to identify drinkers at risk. Subjects showing a high CDT ratio were given an in-depth interview to assess alcohol intake. Drinkers at risk were enrolled in an alcohol dissuasion programme consisting of brief interventions andfollow-up assessments repeated every three months for a year.

Results: 63 subjects (3.7% of the total) were classified as drinkers at risk. By means of a logistic regression test the variables male gender and smoking showed a statistically significant association with the condition of drinkers at risk, while working in inpatient wards showed only a trend towards risk (p=0.06). After a year 42 (70%) of the 60 subjects who completed the alcohol consumption dissuasion programme had reduced alcohol consumption and 18 (30%) had not changed their habits.

Conclusions: The prevalence of alcohol consumption posing a risk among hospital workers was low; blood parameters and alcohol consumption questionnaires routinely used to determine alcohol intake showed low ability to identif a risk condition, bio-anthropometric variables were statistically associated with a higher probability of alcohol consumption posing a risk, programmes to reduce alcohol intake among health workers proved to be effective.